Welcome to the "Create Your Own BOM" mid month check in. Have you been making progress on your own personal Block of the Month? I have, but it has been slower for February. This week has been a total bust with work and evening activities. Last night was our annual Search and Rescue dinner. The food was good and so was the company. We live in one of the largest counties in our state, but the population is low. A few good men/women in our small communities work so hard to help others in an area where a lot of people like to recreate. Our county is often the highest incident rate in the state with so few people to assist. These volunteer men and women on the Search and Rescue team truly save lives while giving countless volunteer hours to training as well as rescue missions. Their training sessions consist of: repelling, climbing, wilderness survival, avalanche, emergency medical responding, helicopter ground safety and rescue, and many other things. Just this last year they had incidents with people getting lost, ledged off cliffs, cliff falls, river rescues, avalanche recovery, repelers hanging from tangled ropes for many hours, and more than one incident where an individual got physically stuck in a slot canyon that took hours and hours to get them out. These volunteers drop everything, including their jobs sometimes, to go help. They often travel for a few hours to even arrive at the scene. My husband has been a part of this team for several years now, and as a wife, you worry about their safety while they are gone. These volunteers are a part of this team because of their love of the outdoors. The team is made up of people with a variety of skills and resources including horseman, motorcyclists, snowmobiles, river rafting, ATVs, and more. My husband is useful in his knowledge of the desert and mountain areas of our county. When this post releases, I'll be off hiking away. We've been getting more snow this week which will slow us down, so wish us luck. Because of my busy week, I don't have any new photos to add today. I would love to see yours though. My daughter has been moving along with her Ariel and Jasmine, so I thought I would show her progress. All she needs is to finish pieces with background fabric. She finally made it to the fabric store to choose her background.
Below is the grey background she has chosen as well as some yellow for hair on the blond princesses.
I did get my 15 minutes to stitch in last week, but this week is moving slow. I knew I would only have a couple nights to accomplish much anyway but then I lost 4 1/2 hours last night unexpectedly. For someone who works full time, that is a lot of time to lose in an evening. Last week I almost missed a day, but I thought ahead and took some hand work to the salon. I did hand applique' while my hair was processing. Fifteen minutes can be easily found with a little bit of pre-planning. This weekend I'll be hiking. I plan to take that same hand work for the evenings. I have two more NYB blocks completed, more of Jasmine, and a good start on my "memory round robin". Out of the two blocks shown below, I really favor the top one. The colors make it very striking in person.
I have the blocks on the sides and top row all sized by width. I just need to calculate the height to fit the middle. I would have had them attached, another NYB ring done, and another Jasmine piece if I could have stayed home last night. I will be fitting all the blocks so the large octogon block in in the center.
One more New York Beauty block is on the design wall.
Do you ever feel like others don't understand your fears? I do, and yet, sometimes I think other people's fears are ridiculous. I guess that makes me no better than those that think my fears are crazy. I used to work with a lady who was afraid of cotton balls. People would sometimes put them in her desk drawer to get her going. I would never do that because I respect others fears even if I think them to be silly. I was very close to another lady who was terrified of cats. I had never heard of that one either, but when we would go visit homes I always protected her from the vicious cats. We served together in our church and made home visits to cheer people up. WELL, I had to do my best to get through a couple of fears on the next 10 miles of our journey to Arizona. These first 32 miles have been mostly in open range where cattlemen have their herds of cows out on the desert. On our second hike there were two huge bulls right on the path that chose not to move. I made my husband go way around, further than he wanted, to calm my fears of getting run over by a charging bull. They stared us down the entire time. It is just a vulnerable feeling to be out in the middle of no where without vehicles or structures or even a rock to climb on or fence to climb over for safety. I am a pretty fast runner for my age, but remember, I had just walked several miles already. I don't know if I could twist and spin like the rodeo cowboys do in an emergency. My grandpa always said, "You don't have to be fast. You just have to be faster than the other guys you are with." (ha ha). I certainly wouldn't want my husband to get charged either. The first 32 miles have been easily accessible from dirt roads. We drive two vehicles, drop one at the end destination, and then drive back to our starting spot so we don't have to back track on our walk. This has been a challenge because I have had to learn how to 4-wheel drive in snow up canyons that scared me. I am literally terrified of slick canyon roads with steep drop offs. I don't mind running off the road if it is flat, but those cliffs paralyze me if the road is snowy. I am proud to say that I survived both breath catching incidents unscathed. I also want to add that I feel so protected with my husband there. He is my strength! Here are some photos of our journey for the "snow" section. It is lucky we had to drive both vehicles to the end before circling the other back because they made tire tracks for us to walk in.
I am learning little things to help me along my path. I have bad feet and have to walk in shoes with good arch support or use inserts. I knew we would be in snow so I packed my snow boots in case I wanted to change out of my tennis shoes. That was a great idea, although I didn't use them. What I realized though was that it does no good to pack dry boots if you don't bring an extra pair of dry socks. Luckily my feet stayed warm, but next time I will be packing dry socks. Look how deep the snow was by my foot.
I added two more sections to our journey quilt. The black and white color changes represent different days of walking. We walked together (purple) for 5 miles and then hubby walked an additional mile while I brought the vehicle further. That is why one square is half yellow and half purple. I walked 5 miles (5 logs) and he walked one more (6th log).
Here is the entire row thus far. We are planning our next adventure this coming weekend and hope to knock off 14 miles a day in two days on a rugged, rocky, mountain trail in snow or mud depending on the weather. Hubby says that will be the end of walking for awhile as we will begin biking.
This is my late TO DO TUESDAY report: Yes, I pretty much accomplished all my list last week. I did make a list this week, but have not posted until now. That explains why some are crossed off already.
6 Jasmine sections (2 left to do)
6 NYB rings (4 left to do)
1 dog block
Journey to Arizona sections for Dec 23rd, Jan 5th, Jan 12, and Jan 20th
2 Feathered Goose Corners
Applique' dog block bones and noses
Sew half of my memory quilt together
Prep some hand work for next week's walk (I can do it in the evenings.)
As I mentioned in an earlier post, my husband and I are walking and biking to Arizona from our home which is about 280 miles. The quilt I started tonight represents our journey. The white section represents the first 10 miles of the trek which took place December 23rd. Each white log is one mile. The yellow squares between them represent my husband walking alone. It took him 3 hours and 5 minutes. When he began this journey he had no idea that I would want to join him. He has since come to realize that logistically I need to join him. The black section represents our journey on January 5 and the next 10 miles. The purple squares mean we walked together. It took us 3 hours and 9 minutes, and we walked at a speed of 3.54 mph. It was a cloudy day with the temperature being about 25 degrees F. I was a little surprised at how hard this section was for me. We were on a dirt road, which is easy walking, but about mile 7 I started to hurt. My hips, thighs, and feet were really feeling it. I was shocked! I came to realize that age is not in my favor for this journey, and my body is not as young as it used to be. Each of us rated our experience on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best. I gave this section a 4. I really earned that 4 in those last three miles. I honestly limped around for a week afterwards. Hubby rated it a 6. His first section alone he rated a 5, so he definitely came up. He is dealing with old injuries that make walking more difficult. Many years ago he had a barn wall fall on him that had a grain bin full of grain attached to it. His ankle had to be pinned. Within the last 5 years he nearly cut off his big toe with a chain saw and had to have it pinned. For now, his ankle doesn't really bend like it should and neither does his toe on the other foot. Once we get through the next 14 miles we will be biking most of the rest of the way which will be easier on him.
I will be getting out my Bernina and embroidering some words on the solid white and solid black logs. I want to tell small details of our trip there such as the date and other details I want to remember. A wonderful thing has happened on this journey; we have grown closer. We are fresh, new empty nesters and are trying to rediscover ourselves as a couple again without kids. Years of raising a family together have made me realize that I focused too heavily on the kids and not enough on my husband. My advice to the young generation is to ALWAYS focus more on each other. Doing that will benefit the kids as well. This trek has brought us so close. Phone calls, television, and work do not intrude on our time while we walk. There is often no service on the trail, so we only talk to each other. I think that having this common goal is so good for us. We have been married for 28 years and are still going strong. We raised three amazing children and have welcomed two son-in-laws and 3, soon to be 4 grand children into our family. I still think he is the best looking man in the world. He did take a couple of photos of this part of the hike. I am pretty short, only 5 ft tall. You can see there is quite a gap in our heights. Also, I had a few layers on to keep warm.
------------------------------------------------------------ I got a good start on Jasmine, and so did my daughter. The first photo is mine while the second is hers. This was my daughter's first paper piecing experience. I am amazed at what she has done.
Thursday I received a call at school from my daughter asking if she could come spend a few days while her husband was on a scout camp. I so enjoyed her visit. I also thoroughly enjoyed playing with sweet grand daughter. She is 18 months and a happy little chatter box. My daughter is doing the Disney Princess quilt with me. She didn't start with Ariel last month, but I got her rolling with Jasmine this weekend. She has never paper pieced before and chose to start with the eye. I am telling you that the eye has a ton of tiny pieces. My daughter did amazing and didn't get scared off. Here is the start of my Jasmine. Daughter and I went through my stash looking for skin fabric and both fell in love with this one for Jasmine. It was pretty tight getting two blocks out of this fabric, but I measured and cut while she colored paper piecing patterns, and I think there was barely enough. I pieced the ones with "skin" in them first.
I also laid out my two sets of One Monthly Goal blocks to determine the layout for them. I think I have settled on the photos below. I also discovered that some applique' needs to be completed for some blocks. These will be small, throw sized quilts. I will make another Chevron Braid for the right side to balance it.
The heart block is not even sewn together and will have black all the way around it.
Did you get some work on your "Create Your Own BOM" in January? If so, please link up. If you have not signed up to participate, it is ok. Show us your progress any way. I will post a linky on the 15th and again on the last day of the month. Please show us your progress. I couldn't get the linky to work yesterday or I would have posted earlier. I guess I am still learning linky language.
I accomplished all of my BOM goals for January. It was relaxing and non stressful, but I did have to get into the sewing room 6 days a week. I finished Ariel, 8 NYB blocks, almost 3 Feathered Goose blocks, 1 Ginger Bread embroidery block, a Christmas dog block, 4 Barnyard dogs, got 4 goats close to done, I cut some barns, and 1 polar bear for my Alaska quilt.
My February One Monthly Goal will be my #7 in Patchwork Times UFO list. It is to complete two tops and plan their borders on a couple of old UFO quilts. I am calling these quilts my "Memory Round Robins" because I made them each as a memory to every round robin I participated in within that year. The black one was made the first year. Basically, if I made a block for someone else's quilt that year I also made the same block for myself out of the black and bright fabrics. That is why I have random blocks such as a snowman and a school bus. It is fun to see the blocks and remember who I made them for. The blue basket and flower/stars applique' blocks were made in a state applique' round robin I did. Other blocks were made for local friends and family in a round robin we organized together. The basket block was for a local friend. The snowman (Linda), pink and blue star (Karen), Double Wedding Ring (Deb), Fisherman Fred and Sun Bonnet Sue (Marie), orange flowers at the bottom (my sister Tracy), School Bus (my sister Becky). A couple of blocks represent quilts I made for myself that year such as: monster (I made a monster quilt for my son), the apples were in a little wall hanging I made, and the pink daisy was for my Lacy Daisy quilt also made that year. The memories are great!
The green and orange one was made the second year. The center was actually not a round robin block but a quilt class I took at Ruby's Inn by Bryce Canyon National Park. Oh that weekend was filled with good good times and friends and quilters. Other blocks are a little harder to remember who I made them for. I know I participated in a couple of state round robins for some of it while others I do recall making for local friends and family. The orange flower block at the top was for my mom. The little ones next to it were made for Marie. The big yellow flower above Sun Bonnet Sue was for Karen. I think I did the frog for Penny and the train for Mariella. The pineapple log cabin was for Theresa.
Well, it will be fun to see how these two quilts come together this month. Perhaps I will put them on my "to be quilted list" next year.
I love making these New York Beauty blocks, but they are very time consuming. This is the progress I made in January. I'm sure I will rearrange these blocks several times as I finish new ones.
I finished machine quilting Mom's Quilter's Garden! I am so happy to cross it off my list. I should be seeing her in the next month to give it to her. She enjoys doing the hand binding, so my part is done. This quilt was my Patchwork Times UFO #7.
Last week's 15 minutes to stitch turned into hours and a ton of progress. I finished Patty the Polar Bear last week and got Ariel embroidered.
I also made progress on my embroidery. I am cutting this one a little close to the wire to finish this month, but I believe I can still make it happen.
My friend and I got our barnyard dogs pieced. I love them. I am making two different quilts and she is making the yellow-purple-green one. I have not stitched down the applique' yet. I use clear Elmer's glue to stick them down which will get washed out after applique' I don't want to true the blocks until after rinsing out the glue. Also, after looking at the photo, I think I want to move the nose and bone up a bit.
We also cut out our pigs. Mine are wrapped in Press N Seal so I opted to share a photo of my friend's instead. We need to find a separate fabric for the noses.
Feathered Goose needs one corner completed to achieve my monthly BOM goal of 3 blocks. The first one was made in December. I am also ahead on my one block a week on New York Beauty. I love them!
I am nearly done quilting Mom's Quilter's Garden as well. This is my One Monthly Goal for January. At the request of one of my readers, I am posting the video I created for my daughter to show her how to paper piece. I hope this benefits someone out there in blogland.
Here is the cute dog block I made from the video. It is the first block in a quilt I am doing for someone as a Christmas gift this year.
